BridgeScan™ A Comprehensive Bridge Deck Condition Assessment

BridgeScan™ is a comprehensive bridge deck and brige deck approach way condition assessment. Bridge inspections are currently conducted manually by visual inspection or by dragging a chain across a road surface to listen for changes in the sound while traffic is barreling across down the highway.

These inspections are critical for proper bridge assessments to maintain our infrastructure for public safety.

The current method is inspector dependent , subjective in nature and although it may have been the best method available to inspectors for the past 50 years, today there are more advanced methods that do more to provide more quantitative data and help keep our infrastructure safe.

Infrastructure Preservation Corporation using modern technology and robotics developed an electromagnetic ground penetrating radar service utilizing advanced interpretation software to provide the department of transportation advanced quantitative data to help them properly allocate budgets and conduct maintenance and repairs.

For the same price as today’s subjective inspection, IPC is deploying electromagnetics and gpr, ground penetrating radar with advanced interpretation software to provide quantitative data to the department of transportation as well as construction and oil & gas clients. GPR can peer through concrete and can be used to inspect roadways, bridge decks and approach ways, concrete slabs & structures and more. BridgeScan can scan an entire bridge deck and locate delamination in the concrete deck, debonding of the concrete, voids, water intrusion, rebar placement, gravel compactness and more. Ground penetrating radar can map an entire bridge deck and approach way to locate anomaly’s and give the department of transportation an assessment that provides them with an action plan.

Being able to know where the most urgent problems are and to properly allocate assets and budget dollars are critical for the department of transportation to maintain our infrastructure and keep the public safe and our economy thriving. Bridge inspections are conducted every two year for bridges in the NBIS (National bridge inventory system).

With the current life expectancy of many of our nations bridges having been exceeded, it is more vital that ever to have the best information about our infrastructure possible. In order to do that we need to incorporate modern technology and robotics into current bridge inspection protocols and do away with as much of the manual subjective process as possible.

The technology exists today to utilize modern technology to lower inspection costs, reduce road closures as well keeping bucket trucks and other obstructions off of the bridges and roadways. This not only prevents inconveniencing the public but creates a safer inspection environment for the inspector as well as the commuting public. The benefits of pushing current technologies to market are enormous. For bridge inspections that have been conducting inspections the same way for years the process and technology has to change if we are to keep our economy vital.

It it not just important to know that there is an issue on a bridge and where it is located. It is also important to know what that issue is and how severe it is in comparison to other issues. Our infrastructure is ageing and maintenance is a huge undertaking by the department of transportation. Being able to properly budget for maintenance and repairs in order of importance is vital to the bridge inspection process. A process that can only be perfected by incorporating modern methods and technologies.